Shibuya

Shibuya 渋谷区
Special ward
Shibuya City
Shibuya Crossing Statue of Hachikō Yoyogi Park Takeshita Street in Harajuku Omotesandō
Flag Seal
Location of Shibuya in Tokyo
Shibuya   Show map of Special wards of Tokyo Shibuya Shibuya (Tokyo) Show map of Tokyo Shibuya Shibuya (Kanto Area) Show map of Kanto Area Shibuya Shibuya (Japan) Show map of Japan
Coordinates: 35°39′34″N 139°42′02″E / 35.65944°N 139.70056°E / 35.65944; 139.70056
Country	Japan
Region	Kantō
Prefecture	Tokyo
Government
• Mayor	Ken Hasebe [ja] (since April 2015)
Area
• Total	15.11 km2 (5.83 sq mi)
Population  (October 1, 2020[1])
• Total	243,883
• Density	16,140/km2 (41,800/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+9 (Japan Standard Time)
Symbols
• Tree	Zelkova serrata
• Flower	Iris ensata
City office	Shibuya 1-18-21, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-8010
Website	www.city.shibuya.tokyo.jp

Shibuya (渋谷区, Shibuya-ku, IPA: [ɕibɯja] ^ⓘ) is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. A major commercial center, Shibuya houses two of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shibuya Station and Shinjuku Station.

As of January 1, 2024, Shibuya Ward has an estimated population of 230,609 in 142,443 households^[2] and a population density of 15,262.01 people per square kilometre (39,528.4 people/sq mi). The total area is 15.11 km² (5.83 sq mi). Notable neighborhoods and districts of Shibuya include Harajuku, Ebisu, Omotesandō, Yoyogi and Sendagaya.

Shibuya came into the possession of the Shibuya clan in the early 1160s, after which the area was named. The branch of the clan that ruled this area was defeated by the Later Hōjō clan on 13 January 1524, during the Sengoku period, and the area then came under their control.^[3] During the Edo period, Shibuya, particularly Maruyamachō on Dōgenzaka, prospered as a town on Oyama Road (present-day Route 246), and in the Meiji era, as a Hanamachi. Shibuya emerged as a railway terminus during the expansion of the railway network beginning in the 19th century, and was incorporated as a ward in the City of Tokyo on 1 October 1932.^[4]

Shibuya, once a mediocre area developed around the railway terminus, overtook Shinjuku as a hub for youth culture in the 1970s. The coinciding competition between Seibu (whose most notable development projects include Shibuya 109) and Tokyu (Tokyu Hands) to develop the area as a commercial center added to its appeal to young people, which in turn spread to other neighborhoods in the ward, such as Harajuku.^[5][6]